Feb., 1884.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



17 



or woody glades for the Hawks to steal be- 

 hind, the females, after being flushed and 

 shot at, would be joined by the males and 

 hang for hours far overhead, mere specks 

 in the sky, seemingly above the loftiest 

 flights of the Buteos.— J. M. W., Nor- 

 wich, Conn. 



Great-horned Owl in Iowa. 



The 17th of February (1883) was cold, 

 but being clear, we decided, in the after- 

 noon, to take a short tramp through the 

 woods north of the city, notwithstanding 

 the snow was quite deep, rendering walk 

 ing rather laborious. Entering the woods, 

 we passed several large sycamore trees, 

 from one of which flew a large Owl. As 

 we thought it a little too early for eggs, 

 we gave it no further consideration, but 

 crossed the river. An hour later we re- 

 turned, and stopped beneath the same tree. 

 On looking ivp to an opening in the trunk 

 some forty feet from the ground, we were 

 greeted first by a pair of large black horns, 

 followed by two great yellow eyes. A few 

 seconds later, away flew the Owl, which we 

 immediately recognized as a Bubo. The 

 ascent of the tree occupied but a few min- 

 utes. When within ten feet of the open- 

 ing, the female left the tree. The hollow I 

 found to be about three feet in diameter 

 and the same in height. It had three en- 

 trances : One — a small one — facing the 

 southeast ; one at the top ; and the third, 

 the principal oue — and the one from which 

 both birds flew — was a few inches from the 

 bottom, and about a foot from the nest — 

 if it could be designated as such, for it was 

 merely a shallow depression in the soft de- 

 cayed wood, that formed the floor of the 

 cavity — containing two pure white eggs. 

 Blowing showed that incubation had just 

 commenced. 



Scattered about over the bottom of the 

 cavity were numerous bits of rabbit's fur, 

 a portion of a cranium of a rabbit, a dozen 

 or more tail feathers of the Owls, the foot 



and leg bones of a large raptorial bird, 

 and numerous other bones. May 2d, while 

 passing through the woods several miles 

 west of the city, we started a Bubo from a 

 nest on a large limb of a white oak. As- 

 cending it, two young Bubos flattered out 

 of the nest to the ground. These I secured 

 and carried home, and have them still in 

 confinement, (Dec. 31, 1883.) About the 

 middle of June the horns began to appear, 

 and by the first of August they were fully 

 developed. Rats, mice, birds and beef 

 (fresh) form the principal part of their 

 diet.— Oh. R. Keyes, Des Moines, Iowa. 



Notes from Taftsville, Vt. 



While out collecting, Aug. 6th, I found 

 a nest of the Black-billed Cuckoo, which 

 contained three young and three eggs. 

 One of the eggs proved to be nearly incu- 

 bated, one about half and the other fresh. 

 One week later I visited the place again. 

 "Upon my approaching the nest the young 

 left it, but Mrs. Cuckoo had deposited 

 another fresh egg, which was slightly flat- 

 tened on one side — it was the largest one 

 of the clutch, its shorter diameter being 

 .89 and .88x1.27 in length; the other 

 three measuring .86 X 1.19, -86 X 1.12, .86 X 

 1.11. The largest egg of this species 

 which I have taken before measured .84 X 

 1.11. Four feet from the Cuckoo's nest 

 was a Bobin's nest containing four eggs. 

 July 26th took a set of seven eggs of the 

 American Goldfinch, and during the sea- 

 son several of five and six each. Sept. 

 6th found a nest of the Goldfinch contain- 

 ing four young which were just hatched. 

 In 1882 I found a set of five Bobin's eggs, 

 it being the only set of five that I have 

 found.— C. O. Tracy, Taftville, Vt. 



S. R. IngersollJCleveland, O) says, in 

 Forest, and Stream, that a specimen of 

 Wilson's Snipe was shot there, Dec. 22d. 

 and three Song Sparrows on Jan. 12th. 

 both remarkable in view of the severity of 

 the winter. 



